Arched ring-wire post binder

ABSTRACT

An arch-type ring binder with cover members and hinged thereto an assembly of hingedly connected back panel sections comprising opposed side panel sections and a connecting panel section, an arched split ring loose leaf toggle mechanism fixed on one side panel and means on one of said other back panel sections, preferably the other side panel section, for releasably locking the arched rings thereto, said binder with the rings in locked condition providing a post binder type assembly with a loose leaf ring mechanism, and with the rings in unlocked condition having the operational advantages and usefulness of a ring binder type of loose leaf unit.

United States Patent [191 Schade 51 Feb. 2?, W73

[54] ARCHED RING-WIRE POST BINDER [75] inventor: Frank Stanley Schade,Holyoke,

Mass. Assignee: National Blank Book Company Inc.,

- l-lolyoke, Mass.

Filed; M ihfiil Appl. No.: 145,788

Related Us. Application Data Division of Ser. No. 784,533, Dec. 3, 1968,Pat. No. 3,606,557.

U.S. Cl. "1402/31 Int; Cl. .342! 3/02 Field of Search ..402/2645, 73-77,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 849,430 4 1907 Shallcross 40 2 3J "FOREIGN PATENTS 6R APPLICATIONS 244,495 3/1912 Germany ..402/75Primary Examir3er-Jerome Schnall Attorney-Chapin, Neal & DempseyAasTnAcT [binder with the rings in locked condition providing a postbinder type assembly with a loose leaf ring :mechanism, and with therings in unlocked condition having the operational advantages andusefulness of a "ring binder type of loose leaf unit.

2 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDFEBZTIQTS 7 3 718,402

SHEET 10F 3 INVENTOR. FRANK STANLEY SCI/Ax B 771w 'fi Mam? Y Z PATENTED3.718.402

SHEET 3 or 3 ililil l rf INVENTOR. FRANK STANLEY SCI/ADE BYM, 772MARCHIEID RING-WIRE POST BINDER This application is a division ofapplication Ser. No. 784,533 filed Dec. 3, 1968, now Patent No.3,606,557

granted Sept. 20, 1971.

BACKGROUND This invention relates to loose leaf binder constructions andparticularly to a ring binder assembly having mating split ring halvesmounted in a unique type of back panel assembly for use as a largecapacity post binder.

assembly, the user may insert or remove individual catalogs or pageswithout the need to remove any overlying material as in many typicalpost binder constructions. In. addition by unlocking the ring unit theindividual pages or sheets of the bound material may be positioned on aflat surface for easier reference or for the purpose of writing andmaking notations on the individual sheets. Thus the new constructioncombines the advantages of post binder and loose leaf ring binder use.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof asshown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a binder of the present invention withthe covers turned back and the back panel sections assembled as a postbinder unit;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the binder of FIG. I with the covers cut awayand the ring members disengaged for the covers and back panel sectionsto lie in planar relation on a flat surface;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing amodification of the arched ring locking bar element shown in theassembly of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the binder as seen in FIG. 2 with filler sheetsmounted on the rings;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a ring lockingelement arranged with a notched ring embracing means;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the archedend of a ring positioned in the assembly of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a partial end view of a binder showing an alternativeembodiment of the invention, the releasable ring locking bar as seen inFIGS. 1 and 2 being mounted on the intermediate back panel connectingsection;

FIG. 8 is a partial end view of an assembled binder of this inventionillustrating a further embodiment of the ring locking means positionedon the same back panel section as in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 and formed with apair of channel shaped members;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the ring locking means shown by FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the archedsection of a ring in locked position as at the upper end of the assemblyshown by FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an end edge view of a still further embodiment of the ringlocking means; and

FIG. I2 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the archedend of a ring locked in position in the assembly shown by FIG. I 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the loose leaf binder ill) of thepresent invention has front and rear covers 112 and M which are suitablyhinged along their inner edges to the outer edges of a pair of opposedside panel sections 16 and 118, respectively, the inner edges of panelsllti and 18 being in turn hinged at opposite sides of an intermediateconnecting panel section 20. The panel sections 16, I8, 20 constitute anassembly of back panels, an arrangement which may be assembled intoU-shaped form as shown by FIG. 1, this U-shaped configuration beingcharacteristic of the binding panel portion of known types of postbinder units.

In the embodiment shown the covers and back panel sections may besuitably constructed by enclosing flat stiffener members such asindicated in FIG. I at 22 for the cover 12. Such stiffeners may befenced in between sections of a pair of sheets of suitable thermoplasticcovering material 24. The sheets are heat sealed around the edges ofeach of the stiffeners and furthermore provide the hinged portions as at26 between the various panels, all as will be readily understood in theart.

A ring metal assembly indicated generally by numeral 28 is shown mountedon one of the side panels of the binder back assembly as on the panel18. As best seen in FIG. 2, it is fixed to the panel in the usual mannerby a pair of spaced rivets at 32. As illustrated the ring metal maycomprise a standard type of top spring or cover plate 38 in which iscarried suitable toggle plate mechanism on which the inner ends of thesplit ring halves are anchored (not shown) for snapping to and fromclosed and open positions (see FIG. 4). As will also be readilyrecognized by those skilled in the art a conventional ring toggle plateoperating lever is provided at 410 at one end of plate 28 and, ifconsidered desirable, a duplicate lever may be provided at the other endof the plate 38. Such toggle plate and lever mechanisms are well knownin the art for manipulating the ring halves and to releasably hold inopen or closed condition and need not be further described in detail.ONe example may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,030,473 granted Feb. 11,1936 to John Schade.

The matching arched ring halves 42 and 42' of the ring mechanism extenddirectly upwardly from opposite sides of the spring plate 28 ingenerally parallel relation (see FIGS. 1 and 3) and are formed a theirupper ends with bent portions at right angles to the post portions. Theends of the ring halves terminate in the usual notched mating tips as at45. The particular advantage of the arched form of ring wire will belater more specifically described.

In the embodiment of the invention in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 one form oflocking means is shown as an elongated bar 30 carried on the side panelsection 16 opposite side panel section 18. It may be mounted for limitedsliding movement as on a plurality of spaced rivets at 34 of the panelsection, the rivets projecting upwardly of the panel surface. Aplurality of spaced longitudinally extending slots 36 in bar 30 engagethe rivets below the heads thereof for the desired shifting movement toand from a locked and an unlocked position. Bar 30, (FIG. 2) is formedby a strip of metal or other suitable material and provided with anumber of upwardly offset ring engaging fingers 48 corresponding to thenumber of ring wires. Each is suitably affixed thereto in this form oflocking member as by welding a plate portion 37 (FIGS. 1 and 2) to thesurface of the bar. An upturned end at 31 of the bar provides a handlefor manually shifting the bar 30.

Referring to FIG. I, the assembled U-shaped hinged back panelarrangement of side sections 16 and 18 and the connecting section 20 isheld by the locked position of the bar 30 and results in the archedwires connecting the side panels together as shown. The top portions ofthe ring-wire halves underlie the fingers 48 at each side of the matingtip ends. Thus each ring half when so anchored contributes tomaintaining the connection in a fairly rigid manner. In this U-shapedcondition of the binder back assembly one arched wire half 42' liesagainst connecting panel 20 while the other arched half 42 liesoutwardly thereof to hold the binder contents. The halves 42' provide astiffening reenforcement for panel 20. The halves 42 constitute theposts of the binder when in this condition. As thus set up the contentsheld on the posts (halves 42) of the assembly can be inspected and usedfor reference or reading purposes as in a usual post binder.

As mentioned above, the arched wire and releasable locking barconstruction affords unusual advantages in the operation and use of thebinder. First, the rigid character of the assembled back sections inlocking the top of the rings as shown by FIG. 1 permits it to functionas a typical post binder having a large filler pack carrying capacity onthe order of from 3 to 5 inches in thickness and has substantialstability although a standard size of heavy ring wire is used. It isthus suitable for holding a plurality of catalogs or other referencematerial without the need for the typically large diameter metal postsusually found in this type of unit to withstand the hard wear to whichsuch units are commonly subjected.

Next, considering FIGS. 2 and 4 the disengagement of the locking barfingers and freeing of the arched rings permits all panel sections to bepositioned in flat relation on a table surface so that the ring halves42 may be disposed in upright relation in order to function in themanner of a standard toggle plate ring binder for insertion or removalof filler sheets indicated at 50 in FIG. 4. With the rings thus freed aportion of the filler material may be turned over on the ring half 42'so that sheets may lie at either side of panel 18. Next the ring halvesmay be spread apart at the desired location and the insertion or removalof an individual sheet or group of sheets 50 may be readily accomplishedwith all the convenience of a common three ring binder and without theneed to first remove any overlying material as in the case of manytypical post-binder constructions.

It will further be appreciated from FIG. 4 that when the rings aredisengaged and the back panel sections are resting in planar relation ona flat surface that the pages may also be turned to either side to liein flat condition against the inside of the underlying panels.Accordingly, any printed or written material on the pages may be moreconveniently examined particularly at the inner marginal portions of thesheets where the usual punched binding holes are threaded on the wires.

Moreover, if the user wishes to make any written notations or entries onthe individual pages a flat surface is provided for a satisfactorywriting surface. Thus the binder although in post binder form has allthe added advantages which are typical of the common ring binder units.

Various alternative forms of the invention and of the ring locking meansas thus far described are shown by the remaining figures. The particularadvantages of each will now be described.

In FIG. 3 an alternative to the welded fingers 48 of FIGS. 1 and 2 isshown. Here, a pair of laterally spaced fingers 54 are struck upwardlyor lanced from the material of a locking bar at 30' The fingers 54 asshown may have a slightly divergently angled relation to the plane ofthe bar 30 and preferably are spaced side by side so that each engagesthe top of the arched ring halves at locations spaced from the matingtip ends at 45. The angled nature of the fingers provides a slightwedging action on the wires when the bar 30 is shifted to holdingposition and thus assists in securing a rigidly locked condition on aring and assists in holding the mated tip ends of the ring halvestogether.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 another form of locking finger is provided in anelongated bar at 30''. Here, a single lanced projection at 54' isprovided. It is struck centrally from the material of the bar after themanner of the pair of fingers 54 of FIG. 3. The central location offinger 54' will cover the mated tips at 45 in overlying relation whenmoved to locked position.

In FIGS. 5 and 6 the locking bar 30" is in addition mounted for slidingmovement on a central portion at 58 of a ring embracing member 56.Membeg 56 may be incorporated on panel 16 with the locking bar and byreason of its channel formation serves as an additional means to anchorthe outer end portions of the arched rings so as to insure the stabilityof a binder in assembled condition. It is particularly designed forunits having larger capacity rings and intended for extremely heavy dutyuse. Although adaptable for many purposes, post binders of the generaltype as disclosed herein are commonly used to bind groups of currentcatalogs and the like together for reference purposes. When so used theyare often subjected to hard wear and severe handling. Member 56 ispreferably of heavy gage metal and not only accurately locates andpositionally secures the outer ends of the arched rings for lockingpurposes, but also effectively resists any twisting strains to which theopposing panels 16 and 18 may be subjected in view of the larger sizering wire used. As noted from FIG. 5 member 56 preferably extends thefull length of panel 16 and thus also acts as a reenforcing element forthis panel. It is secured thereto by the rivets 64, the rivets passingupwardly of the central portion 58 and through the longitudinal slots at66 of bar 30" for the slidably locking and unlocking movement of thebar.

Portion 58 of the channel member is at the bottom of a central section,U-shaped in cross-section (FIG. 6) and formed at each side with aninverted U-shaped skirt indicated at 60. Notches in the side skirtformations are at 62, these notches being cut partially from the metalof the top walls of the side sections and partially from the walls 64common to the central and side U-shaped portions. Notches 62 receive thecorners of the arched right angled ring halves and, as will be apparentfrom FIG. 6, the insertion of the upper ends for moving the fingers 54'into locking condition as well as stabilizing the binder assembly forthe severest type of handling as above mentioned. I

In FIG. 7 an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in whichthe arched rings are releasably locked or anchored by fingers at 70which may be similar to those as described above and carried on asliding bar at 72 mounted on the back panel connecting section Theanchoring of the arched ring halves 42 may be centrally on section 20'as shown, or, if desired, close to the upper end of the ring halvesagainst panel 20' for snugly holding these ring halves on the panelsection. In any event, by locking the inner halves of the rings in thismanner a large capacity arched ring may be utilized in a sturdy assemblyand furnish the advantages of post binder and ring binder convenience.It is to be noted that with the upper back panel side section 16'unattached, this section and its cover 12 may be swung back at the tophinged edge of section 20'. The uppermost pages of the binder contentsmay thus be turned over the top of the arched rings for somewhat easierinspection in using the binder for reference. The particularconstruction of FIG. 7 is less well adapted, in comparison with theforms above described, to withstand conditions where extremely hardusage is normally to be expected. However, it offers the operationaladvantages of both the post binder and ring binder types where severehandling is not anticipated,

Two additional embodiments of the invention showing variations of anelongated plate locking means are shown, respectively, by FIGS. 8-10 andFIGS. 11 and 12. Each form is characterized by a channel type ofconstruction in which sheet metal of a lighter stock may be used withoutsacrificing the sturdy character of an assembled binder. These forms inaddition strengthen and reenforce the side panel to which they areattached. 7

In FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 the slidable locking member 80 is of a channeledpanel formation. It may be stamped from thinner metal stock than isshown by the forms of locking bar as in FIGS. 1-4 and in FIGS. 5-6.Theflat plate portion 82 of member 80 in locked condition is preferablyof a size to cover substantially the inner surface area of the sidepanel section 16. Portion 82 has right angled side flanges 84 whichpreferably engage the ring halves, as will be described, and is mountedfor sliding movement against the surface of panel 16 itself. A pluralityof longitudinal slots 86 are provided in plate 82 and rivets 88 whichfix a stationary channel plate 90 to side panel 16 in overlying relationto plate 82 extend through the slots to permit limited sliding movementto and from locked condition. Upturned portions at 81 are bent at eachend of plate 82 for finger manipulation to either position. Fingers 83are struck from the plane of the. plate to serve as the lockingelements.

As will be seen from FIG. 8, the outer edges of opposing flanges 84 inlocked condition preferably bear against the outside of each opposingring half in order for the closed tip ends of the wires to be heldtogether and eliminate any significant separation thereof while in use.From FIG. 8 it will also be noted that the flanges 84 may bedimensioned, within limits, to determine a desirable full pack size offiller contents to be mounted on the post-like ring halves 42. In otherwords the lower edge of the outer flanges 84 may be shortened somewhatto engage the ring at a higher position than that shown by FIG. 8 andstill be effective to hold the tip ends together. This lower edge of theouter flange, of course, will determine the extent to which the top ofthe binder contents can be built up before preventing a lockingengagement of the fingers 83 over the rings. Accordingly, the dimensionof the flanges may be varied to prohibit an excessive stuffing of theposts 42 in any given size unit.

The stationary channel plate is fixed by the rivets 88 in overlyingrelation to plate 82. Plate 90 is held in spaced relation to panel 16for the limited sliding movement of locking plate 82 as by thedownwardly struck metal of plate 90 immediately surrounding each rivet(see FIG. 10). This dimpled depression is formed for spacer purposeswhen staking the heads of the rivets. Thus the slots 86 receive thedepressed spacer sections through which the rivets extend to fastenplate 90 to panel 16.

The stationary plate 90 is formed with flanged sides 92 in the edge ofwhich are cut oppositely paired notches 94 for receiving the upper endsof the ring halves 42 and 42' as best seen in FIG. 10. Notches 94prevent twisting strains on the ring halves when the binder is in use inthe same manner as described in connection with the form of FIG. 6.Slots 96 are cut in plate 90 in the area between the notches 94 and thering locking fingers 83 extend upwardly through the slots 96 formovement to and from locking engagement when plate 82 is shifted. Thenested channel plate arrangement thus securely holds the rings fromseparation and twisting strains for a sturdy assembly which willeffectively resist rough handling in operation.

In the further modification of FIGS. 1 l and 12 a twopiece sheet metallocking plate assembly is also indicated. Here a flanged metalreenforcing and supporting panel or plate 100js secured in fixedrelation on the side panel section 16 (FIG. 11). A right-angled flange102 at each side is provided with an inwardly turned edge or lip 104.Opposed pairs of notches 1116 are cut in the edges 104 for registrationwith the opposed upper corners of each closed ring as best seen in FIG.12. Mounted on the panel portion of plate 100 is a slidable lockingplate which is provided with locking fingers 112 struck therefrom, amanual shifting handle or tab 114 at one end, and longitudinallyextending slots 116 for receiving the rivets at 118 which fix panelplate 100 on the side section 16.

Locking plate 110 has divergently and upwardly angled side flanges 120,the outer edges of these flanges preferably being fitted with aclearance spacing close to the inside corners formed between flanges 102and lips 104 (FIG. 11) in order to pocket the plate 110 for the slidingmovement. Thus a stationary panel reenforcing member is provided for theside panel section 16. The ring-locking slide plate 110 is formed to bebraced by the pocketed flanges at each side, and the notches 106 providemeans not only for resisting twisting strains in use but also forclamping the tip ends of the ring wires together in the assembly. Theflanges 102 also serve to prevent stuffing" a binder as described above.With this construction the thinner sheet metal stock may also be usedwithout losing the sturdiness and ruggedness desirable for largecapacity post binders of this type.

What is claimed is:

1. In a loose leaf post binder casing structure of the type having apair of covers and hinged at the inner edges thereof a back panelassembly provided with a pair of side panel sections and hingedly joinedtherebetween a central connecting panel section, said panel assemblybeing adapted to hold a pack of sheet material between said sidesections; a post binder back construction comprising a split ring wireloose leaf mechanism affixed to the inner face of one of said side panelsections having a plurality of longitudinally spaced pairs of separable,mated, ring halves forming an arched configuration with generallyparallel sides and generally right angularly directed outer tip endportions,

an elongated plate member provided with a U- shaped flanged channelcentrally thereof having its base fixed in stationary flat planarrelation against the other of said side panel sections andat eachflanged side being provided with an inverted U- shaped skirt portionhaving the inner side wall thereof in common with the flanged wall ofsaid U- shaped central portion,

the top connecting walls of said skirt portions and said common innerside walls thereof having notched portions oppositely located forreceiving the arched corners of said ring halves therein when the tipends of the ring halves are brought together and said side panelsections are assembled in opposed parallel facing relationship, and

an elongated releasable locking plate member overlying said centralconnecting portion of the fixed plate in flat planar relation andslidably mounted thereon for limited longitudinal movement,

said locking plate having ring wire engaging fingers offset outwardly ofthe plane thereof and being movable to releasably hold the outer endportions of the ring halves against said locking plate and locking theside panel sections in said assembled condition with the arched cornersof the ring halves seated in said notched portions and being heldthereby in mating closed relationship. 2. The structure of claim 1 inwhich said loose leaf mechanism is a toggle spring plate unit.

1. In a loose leaf post binder casing structure of the type having apair of covers and hinged at the inner edges thereof a back panelassembly provided with a pair of side panel sections and hingedly joinedtherebetween a central connecting panel section, said panel assemblybeing adapted to hold a pack of sheet material between said sidesections; a post binder back construction comprising a split ring wireloose leaf mechanism affixed to the inner face of one of said side panelsections having a plurality of longitudinally spaced pairs of separable,mated, ring halves forming an arched configuration with generallyparallel sides and generally right angularly directed outer tip endportions, an elongated plate member provided with a U-shaped flangedchannel centrally thereof having its base fixed in stationary flatplanar relation against the other of said side panel sections and ateach flanged side being provided with an inverted U-shaped skirt portionhaving the inner side wall thereof in common with the flanged wall ofsaid U-shaped central portion, the top connecting walls of said skirtportions and said common inner side walls thereof having notchedportions oppositely located for receiving the arched corners of saidring halves therein when the tip ends of the ring halves are broughttogether and said side panel sections are assembled in opposed parallelfacing relationship, and an elongated releasable locking plate memberoverlying said central connecting portion of the fixed plate in flatplanar relation and slidably mounted thereon for limited longitudinalmovement, said locking plate having ring wire engaging fingers offsetoutwardly of the plane thereof and being movable to releasably hold theouter end portions of the ring halves against said locking plate andlocking the side panel sections in said assembled condition with thearched corners of the ring halves seated in said notched portions andbeing held thereby in mating closed relationship.
 2. The structure ofclaim 1 in which said loose leaf mechanism is a toggle spring plateunit.